Sunday morning found us heading north once again.
This time we were headed for our last stop in Chesapeake Bay, the Bohemia River.
An adverse current and no wind made for a very long and uninspiring day.
For one hour before we arrived at our anchorage the wind piped up enough to
raise the sails but it disappeared in the blink of an eye. At anchor we
debated tomorrow's plan. The first scenario had us heading through the C&D
Canal, down the Delaware Bay to Cape May, New Jersey where we'd wait, perhaps
days, for weather to cross to Block Island . Scenario two had more allure
for us though. It involved the same first steps but skipping the Cape May
part and just heading straight offshore. Two nights at sea was the only
drawback to this option.

On our way down Delaware Bay Monday morning we made our
last call to Chris Parker for a weather forecast. If we went to Cape May
we'd be waiting till at least Friday for another window which would be brief at
best. If we continued offshore today we'd be most of the way to Block by
the time the current weather window would fall apart. The deterioration
involved 25 knots on the stern and some rain. Shango is perfectly happy
with those conditions so Monday evening we careened past the beach at Cape May
and continued on our way as the sun set over New Jersey.

These would be our 15th &16th overnights of the trip and
we were feeling fairly comfortable doing them at this point. That's not to
say we enjoyed them. This particular trip is one of the busiest since it
involves crossing the New York shipping lanes. All hands, including
Milo, were up for the trip.

The pleasant weather held out longer than we expected.
Well into Tuesday night and the wee hours of Wednesday morning the wind was
pretty light. We were able to sail downwind with the whisker pole from
noon on Tuesday till sunset, when the pole was stashed out of harms way for the
night. We found we were still able to make enough headway with the main
alone through Tuesday night. Wednesday at the crack of dawn with
Block Island in view the rain and wind finally arrived. Happily we were on
the hook inside Great Salt Pond within two hours. My undying devotion to
the tall handsome deck hand who handled the anchor drill during the deluge.
All hands retired below into the warmth of the cabin for some much needed sleep.

Sunday, June 8th
Tarpaulin Cove, Naushon Island, Massachusetts

Here we are back in Massachusetts. As scenic vistas
in Massachusetts go, Tarpaulin Cove is a standout. It felt almost ok to be
back home. This was the second stop on our "Cape & Islands Tour 2008"
I include Block Island in this because it seems to fit, despite being in Rhode
Island.

After several days of waiting out the lousy weather at
Block Island we were finally able to rent a car and take an Island tour.
It's a beautiful place which has managed to preserve over 40% of its land in a
variety of conservation efforts. It, like the Cape, Martha's Vineyard and
Nantucket suffer from Summer crowds but it is still possible to find unspoiled
areas.

Except for Cuttyhunk, all of the Elizabeth Islands are
owned by the Forbes family. Access is tightly controlled but the views are
great. There are very few homes on the Islands and most of those are quite
understated. In Tarpaulin Cove there is an old farmhouse and a
lighthouse. You are allowed to walk the beach but cannot go inland.
It's a very beautiful place which is a very popular anchorage in the Summer.
It was great to be here just before the season has started.

Monday, June 9th
Falmouth Inner Harbor, Cape Cod, MA.

After a tiny sail from Tarpaulin Cove we found ourselves
eight miles north in the warm embrace of Falmouth Inner Harbor. We were
guests, once again, of Bill Zammer at the Flying Bridge Restaurant. Six
years ago when we stopped on our way home the cat escaped ashore and we drove
around for hours in Bill's fancy car shouting "Milo" out the window. His
only request this time was for us to keep the cat onboard. We had a great
lunch at the restaurant and Bill was able to fill us in on all of his recent
exploits which are many. He was heading down to Tortola several days later
to spend some time on his sailboat, Merlin and was excited to be getting
into the boating mood. Bill, thanks as always for your hospitality!

Wednesday, June 11th
Nantucket Island, MA.

I hadn't been to Nantucket since I visited with my college
roommate 25 years ago. I was looking forward to seeing how much, if
anything, I remembered. We arrived after a light wind sail. We
finally gave up about five miles from the harbor entrance, turning to the engine
for assistance. Once inside the harbor we anchored behind a sand spit
known as Coatue. It was a beautiful spot a bit like the anchorage behind
Long Point in Provincetown. We would discover later that this anchorage
would become off limits permanently as of July 1st. I'm glad we were able
to experience it before its closure.

We made a quick trip into town to see if we could make
arrangements to rent a car for an Island tour the following day. Happily
we discovered Young's Bicycle Shop. For a very reasonable price (way more
reasonable than on Block Island) they rented us a BRAND NEW Honda Civic.
Boy, it was just as much fun to drive as it was to sightsee! The next day,
armed with an Island map we did a lap of Nantucket. We started with the
town which is gorgeous. The architecture sends you right back to the days
when whaling was the main occupation. I imagine that the smell is somewhat
improved over those days. Then we headed east towards Pocomo, Wauwinet
(where you can't actually go without the proper creds.), Quidnet (my favorite),
'Sconsett (where Bill Belichek has a place) and back to town. We had lunch
at a cool place called Something Natural then headed off in a westerly
direction. After stops at Dionis, and Madaket we went for a walk on the
beach at the end of Hummock Pond Road. There weren't many people out for a
nice day but it is still pre-season. We did encounter several seals
swimming out beyond the surf line. They must have been looking for a late
lunch. I wondered if they were hoping someone would toss them a tuna
sandwich. After a quick stop at Bartlett's Farm we made our way back to
Young's Bike Shop with the car intact. A fine day.

After our two days on Nantucket we left with a very
favorable impression. Everyone we met was really friendly and helpful.
I suppose after a season of tourists their tolerance may get worn down but we
can at lest recommend June. We were told that October is also a good time
to be on the Island because it's SCALLOP SEASON!

Friday, June 13th
Vineyard Haven, Martha's Vineyard, MA

Martha's Vineyard is less of a mystery. We have
sailed here several times over the last few years and Roger used to spend
vacations here many years ago. Our first stop was Edgartown Harbor on the
east end of the Island. I hadn't sailed to Edgartown since I was a kid and
I had very little memory of it. Edgartown is definitely the country club
corner of the Island. After being told you can no longer anchor in Katama
Bay we picked up a mooring in town. As luck would have it we were directly
across from the Summer cottage of the late Ernie Boch, auto sales magnate.
The residents must have been thrilled when it was built. It's quite
something. It is three stories tall and has innumerable
windows and skylights. There is a gambrel roof on a portion of the
house, I guess so it would fit in with its neighbors(?). It has several
canons on the front lawn and the windvane is lit up at night.
Understatement was not Ernie's strong suit. Roger's back was complaining
for the first time all year so I left him to relax aboard and I took the dinghy
ashore. The amenities for boaters are quite good. Nice dinghy dock,
showers, etc. I'm sure that these facilities can become overwhelmed in
high season but once again, June was no problem. Town was pretty and busy.
It didn't have as much historic charm as Nantucket but it was still appealing.

We called it an early evening and had just started to nod
off when we started to hear cheering across the waters of the Harbor. Then
hooting and hollering. It didn't seem like the sort of place where things
got rowdy on a Thursday night. Then it occurred to us. The Celtics
game was on. At about eleven thirty one last hoot went up and we rolled
over. This morning we discovered that the game was a doosy. The
Celtics came back from a 20+ point deficit to beat L.A. in game four of the NBA
Championships.

Early Friday morning we set out for Vineyard Haven, on the
west edge of Martha's Vineyard. These were Roger's old stomping grounds
and aching back or no, he was going for a walk. We tied up at the Black
Dog wharf and set out. Our first stop was Gannon & Benjamin's. This
is a boat yard on the Harbor that makes beautiful, rugged wooden boats.
The yard is featured in a book called Wooden Boats. It's a very
neat place. From there it was off to the Bunch of Grapes bookstore on Main
St. Most everything in town looked as Roger remembered it. All was
right with the world.

Saturday, June 14th
Provincetown, MA.

Today was a long day for us. We've been taking
little steps lately so 50 miles seemed like quite a distance. In order to
fortify ourselves we headed into the Black Dog tavern for a hearty breakfast.
That taken care of we made our way out into Vineyard Sound for our first
navigational challenge of the day. Woods Hole. We timed this one
reasonably well. We arrived not too long after slack so the current wasn't
crazy. Only about three knots. We sped by innumerable buoys,
encountering no ferries or big scary commercial traffic. With that out of
the way we popped out into Buzzards Bay. There wasn't a lot of wind but we
had time before the current was right in the Cape Cod Canal so we set the sails
for a leisurely poke up the Bay. Lots of boats were out enjoying the late
Spring weekend day, giving the area a festive air. Sadly we made better
progress than we had hoped and wound up at the Canal before the current had
turned. Not a crisis. It was the very end of the unfavorable tide
and it wasn't too long before we had slack water. We didn't get to
experience the thrill of heading through with max current but there will be
other times.

When we exited the Canal the wind was initially light and
on the nose for our trip to Provincetown, but after about a half an hour things
perked up. The Captain, whose back was feeling slightly better, tweaked
the sails to within an inch of their lives and we were off and running. By
the time we were off of P-Town 3+ hours later the breeze was blowing 15 knots on
the starboard beam and the Captain was smiling contentedly at the helm.

So here we find ourselves, anchored in Provincetown Harbor just a daysail
from home.